§ 4-41a-1006 — Independent medical cannabis licenses.

(1) (1)(a) Subject to the requirements of Subsection (3) and the criteria established for obtaining a medical cannabis pharmacy license under this chapter, the licensing board shall:
(1)(a)(i) before January 1, 2026, select one entity to receive a medical cannabis pharmacy license; and
(1)(a)(ii) before January 1, 2027, but not before January 1, 2026, select one entity to receive a medical cannabis pharmacy license.
(1)(b) When selecting entities under this section, if there is a conflict between the criteria established for obtaining a medical cannabis pharmacy license under the other sections of this chapter and this section, this section controls.
(2) For the license described in Subsection (1)(a)(ii), the licensing board may not select an entity:
(2)(a) that owns any interest in or operates a medical cannabis production establishment; or
(2)(b) that is owned, partially or entirely, or operated by a medical cannabis production establishment.
(3) The licensing board:
(3)(a) may not select an entity to receive a license under this section if the entity owns a financial interest in a medical cannabis pharmacy or is owned by an entity that owns a financial interest in a medical cannabis pharmacy; and
(3)(b) shall select an entity that will site a medical cannabis pharmacy license issued under this section in an area:
(3)(b)(i) designated as a medically underserved area as determined by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration; and
(3)(b)(ii) located in a county of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class.
(4) A license described in this section may not be transferred to another entity unless that entity meets the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3) that the transferring entity met when obtaining the license.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsection (4), for a license described in Subsection (1)(a)(i), an applicant shall commit to not alienating or otherwise transferring control of the license or of the entity that holds the license to another person for at least 15 years from the day the license is issued under this chapter.
(6) The department shall provide regular updates to the Medical Cannabis Governance Structure Working Group created in Section 36-12-8.2 regarding the application and selection process for licenses issued under this section.

Legislative History

Enacted by Chapter 114, 2025 General Session